1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a seed drill specifically designed for operation over rough ground and to be trailed behind low to medium powered draft vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Various different forms of seed drills (grass seeders) heretofore have been provided, but most have been designed primarily for use on smooth ground.
In recent years, however, attempts have been made to utilize these previously known forms of seeders on rough ground (in part for soil erosion control) and users of such previously known forms of grass seeders have found that frequent repairs to the seeders must be made as a result of breakage due to usage over rough ground.
Some manufacturers of seeders have, therefore, developed seeders which are more strongly constructed and braced to withstand the considerable operational stresses which occur when operating a seeder over rough ground.
However, it has recently become apparent that more heavily constructed and braced seeders result in seeders which are extremely stiff and therefore transmit operational shocks throughout and still incur breakage and other failures due to operation over rough ground. Also, more heavily constructed and braced seeders require larger and more powerful draft vehicles which return results in considerably higher fuel costs and draft vehicle maintenance costs.
Also, prior art seed drills for chaffy seeds utilize a picker wheel or brush wheel to replace the standard grain feed cup to pull material (seed) from a grain box rather than rely upon gravity for feeding grain from the box. Also, additional agitation is provided to many grain boxes by paddle wheels or augers to prevent bridging of the grain. Also, large feed cups and down spouts are required and chaffy seed requires extensive processing and conditioning for usage in a seed drill.
The instant invention, however, utilizes a simple rotating storage drum for the chaffy seed and the drum provides for both agitation and proper metering with a simple low cost structure inherently capable of receiving therein larger quantities of chaffy seed than would be possible conventional grain boxes.